Deputy Finance Minister Jonas Said SA Must Be Obsessed By These 3 Issues

Post by Chika Udeh November 8, 2016

Advertisement

Deputy Finance Minister, Mcebisi Jonas says South Africans must desist from being obsessed by issues detrimental to the country’s future but should invest their minds and obsession on more important matters of the country.

Mcebisi said South Africans must be obsessed by three very important issues, one of which is the construction of a stronger and less corrupt government. This, he said, is the most important issue the country is facing at the moment.

Next was that citizens of South Africa need to remain focused on renewed, inclusive and vigorous growth which he said is paramount for nation building.

“Part of the new national obsessions that we need to build is an obsessions towards renewed growth, inclusive growth as well as vigorous industrialization, and reduce the constraints that prevent us from growth,

“The second national obsession should be [with] constructing a government that is stronger, more capable and less corrupt.

“We need that all South Africans will die and stand for a few things,” Jonas told the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) conference in Sandton” he noted.

On his third list of what South Africans must be obsessed with, deputy finance Minister Mcebisi said citizens should be education and skills development, which was needed in order to satisfy the first two obsessions.

He said the country had a long list of objectives but it needed to be focused on more important matters.

“We have lost national obsessions. We are a country with no national obsessions.” Jonas said adding that spending on education in the country was already very high and probably needed to be more focused on quality.

Jonas was quoted as saying SA’s borrowing costs would likely “double or triple” if ratings agencies downgrade the country’s debt to sub-investment grade.

He also said debt servicing costs were the fastest-growing item in October’s medium-term budget and, along with low growth, would force the government to cut welfare spending.

Related to what the Deputy Finance Minister wants South Africans to be focused on, a columnist on M&G said there is an acrid stench floating from the NPA into the public domain and that only South Africans and the court are “left to fend off our lawless state”.

The columnist accused NPA’s Shaun Abrahams, Torie Pretorius and the Hawks chief, General Berning Ntlemeza of playing a part in the lawless state of the country,

The columnist said these politically connected individuals must all go and only the courts and civil society can force them out as a way of standing against continued lawlessness for the sake of our future.